| Pros | Cons | ||
| ✓ Solid (37 mpg+) fuel economy | ☓ Less affordable than rivals (including the RAV4 Hybrid) | ||
| ✓ Refined ride and handling | ☓ Less powerful than some rivals | ||
| ✓ Spacious, ergonomic interior | ☓ Tech features are OK, but nothing jaw-dropping | ||
| ✓ Good marks for safety |
There’s a reason the Honda CR-V is one of the best-selling compact SUVs on the market.
It’s been around for nearly 30 years now, and Honda’s answer to the Toyota RAV4 as well as a horde of crossover rivals continues to evolve with each generation. New styling, new tech — and for the last couple generations, a fuel efficient hybrid option. If anything, a model promising upwards of 40 mpg (per EPA estimates) just sweetens an already enticing proposition for those folks who need one solid, pleasant-to-live-with daily driver.
For 2025, the CR-V Hybrid carries on unchanged from last year. The current sixth-generation CR-V, which broadly shares its HA (Honda Architecture) platform and interior layout with the eleventh-generation Civic, has been on sale since the 2023 model year. The nonhybrid version offers up a turbocharged 1.5-liter engine with 190 horsepower, available across three trim levels. The CR-V Hybrid, for its part, gets slightly more power from its 2.0-liter-backed two-motor powertrain, and also comes in one of three trim options: Sport, Sport-L and Sport Touring. Stepping up each rung doesn’t change the look much, but does add onto the feature set with things like leather interior, wireless charging (on the Sport-L and above) and a Bose premium audio system (on the Sport Touring).
If you’re looking for a TL;DR take on the 2025 Honda CR-V Hybrid, here it is: There’s a reason Honda dealers sold 402,791 of these cars in the U.S. alone last year. There’s a reason why it hasn’t needed to change much over the past couple years and why that sales momentum seems to be growing as of January 2025, where dealers shifted more than 27,000 CR-Vs…with half of those being gas-electric hybrids. It’s just that good.
When you have a ton of players in a market segment like compact SUVs, it’s tempting to say that they’re all pretty much the same and spend the rest of your day deciding which shade of off-white you want for your living room walls (or parked in your driveway for that matter…since a solid quarter of you prefer a white car). Spend enough time looking around, though, and you’ll spot at least subtle differences among them — with the CR-V’s strong suit being that Honda’s polished it to a T over three decades and six generations.
In terms of efficiency and everyday performance, the CR-V Hybrid is (mostly) a class act.
Winter seems to be hitting states coast-to-coast with a vengeance this year, so there’s been plenty of opportunity to test out just how well the “Real Time AWD with Intelligent Control” system works. The 2025 Honda CR-V Hybrid, like its non-hybrid counterpart, still uses a mechanical all-wheel drive system to transmit power from the front to the rear axle as needed. That’s one key change from the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid, which has no such connection and uses an electric motor to meter out power to the rear wheels. Now, Honda’s solution for its compact crossover is not the same as its i-VTM4 system, which it uses in its larger Passport and Pilot SUVs as well as the Ridgeline pickup — but the automaker promises an “extremely responsive” experience to keep you in control in sudden loss-of-traction situations.
On the TFL slip test, things didn’t turn out that promising. The CR-V Hybrid struggled on the three-wheel slip test and in our onX Offroad course, it didn’t fare any better when the wheels are off-kilter. So, to be clear, you don’t want your daily driver CR-V onto a seriously gnarly and technical trail, especially if you leave it on the stock Michelin Primacy 4 Plus all-season tires. In snowy conditions, however, I never had a panic-inducing moment as the all-wheel drive and traction control systems did their job admirably, even without dedicated winter or severe service-rated rubber.
With a 2.0-liter naturally aspirated engine, two electric motors and 204 system horsepower on tap, there’s not really enough grunt for you to get into serious wheel-spinning trouble in the first place. Nevertheless, the CR-V Hybrid did its job shifting me around on the icy, slushy mess that comprises the snowy season here in Colorado, while you can expect to get from 0-60 in about 8 seconds under normal driving conditions.
That’s decidedly “eh” against a class that also includes the punchy Mazda CX-5/CX-50 and the RAV4 Hybrid as well as the Hyundai Tucson Hybrid (both of which have more grunt), but I’d call the CR-V Hybrid’s output tolerable when you consider the flip side: EPA fuel economy ratings between 37 and 43 mpg. (In mostly city driving, I managed to land in the mid- to upper-30s for most of my week driving this example.)
A comfortable, quiet and refined ride
The power may just be decent, but the 2025 Honda CR-V Hybrid also manages a smooth, competent and overall satisfying driving experience for just about everyone. Being a hybrid model, you have to deal with the engine kicking on and off throughout your drive — but you’ll hardly notice unless you’re specifically watching out for it. In my opinion, at least, it even feels a little bit smoother in the transitions than the RAV4 Hybrid, while the engine itself doesn’t drone too much unless you’re really trying to hammer it.
Overall, the Honda CR-V, both hybrid and gas variants, offer up a smooth and quiet ride without feeling too floaty, numb and lifeless. Both the turbo powertrain and hybrid models offer a similar amount of zip by the numbers, though the fuel efficiency advantage obviously leans well into the CR-V Hybrid’s domain.
While we’re on the performance discussion, most compact SUVs aren’t really set up for towing, and the 2025 Honda CR-V is no exception. Non-hybrid models can get away with towing up to 1,500 pounds when properly equipped, but the CR-V Hybrid model drops that number to 1,000 pounds. In other words, pretty much useless, especially when you consider that its Toyota RAV4 Hybrid rival is rated up to 1,750 pounds (250 pounds more than the gas-powered RAV4).
The CR-V’s interior just makes so much sense — but also doesn’t bring any surprises.
As behooves a best-selling crossover second only to the RAV4 in its class, the 2025 Honda CR-V Hybrid needs to bring its A game when it comes to tech and features. And it does: You get Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, dual-zone climate control, heated front seats and a host of driver assistance systems, even on the base Sport Hybrid trim. Honda includes collision mitigation braking, adaptive cruise control with low-speed follow (although it’s not a full stop-and-go system), lane keep assist, traffic sign recognition, blind-spot monitoring and road departure mitigation as part of its standard safety suite.
Upgrading to higher trims nets you even more features, naturally. The Sport-L bumps up the standard 7-inch infotainment screen to a 9-inch unit, for example. Granted, even the larger screen is fairly quaint by today’s standards, but the trade off is plenty of physical buttons to control all the most important features. Like Honda’s other recent revamps including the 11th-gen Civic and the latest Accord, Honda knocks the CR-V out of the park when it comes to ergonomics. Not only do you get buttons to control pretty much everything, but those buttons are grouped together where you’d expect them to be. No muss, no fuss, no hunting for the heated steering wheel button that some automakers seemingly put in a random location (*cough* Toyota). There’s nothing to “get used to” here — it just works.
For all the praise Honda deserves for the CR-V’s interior design, including lots of glass area for visibility and plenty of space across both rows with wide-opening doors to boot…admittedly, there’s not a lot of sparkle. Everything feels well-built, but there’s no option for lighter interior trim (apart from the seats), super-advanced semi-autonomous driving systems, or indeed a huge and sharp-looking infotainment screen. It’s unabashedly uncomplicated, and that does play well when you consider the main competition.
Verdict: This is the best of the hybrid bunch, if you shop wisely.
Between review outlets and owners, the 2025 Honda CR-V Hybrid hits virtually all the right notes for your small SUV daily driver, from styling to interior space and comfort to features to fuel efficiency. If you’re shopping in this class, this should at least be on your shopping list, if not ultimately at the very top once you take some test drives…as long as you don’t plan to tow, that is.
There is one other pain point I’d take into consideration if you are shopping the hybrid model, though — and that’s the price. At $42,495 plus a bit extra for a premium color (Platinum White/Radiant Red/Still Night (blue)/Urban Gray) and any accessory packages, the Sport Touring trim is awfully pricey for the extra features you get. Sure, the upgraded Bose system and heated steering wheel are nice, but is it worth an extra $2,000 or more over the Sport-L? Maybe not.
You can also save another $1,500 if you stick with front-wheel drive, which you can do with the base Sport Hybrid and Sport-L Hybrid. That’s the configuration that promises up to 40 mpg combined, while going for AWD as an option or getting the Sport Touring drops the combined EPA figure down to 37 mpg. So, the Sport-L trim is what I’d suggest with FWD, if you can get away with it, and that’ll get you a well-equipped and efficient daily rig for about $39,045.
